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Mare Nostrum

by Hecq

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about

In August 2013, Ben Lukas Boysen spent some time in Barcelona, making audio recordings of the 9th biggest supercomputer in the world, MareNostrum. Installed in a former chapel with acres of glass and steel, Europe's most powerful computer is not only impressive in its performance but also in its appearance. With this album, you will get living proof of MareNostrum's audible skills, captured and processed by Hecq.

A large glass box and a loud hum filled the nave of the deconsecrated chapel. Inside the box is MareNostrum, the largest computer in Spain. From the outside, the only signs that it is alive are the blinking lights and the noise from its ventilators. However, MareNostrum can say much more - it just needs someone who can hear it.

"When I met Ben, I was looking for a musician for a documentary created using MareNostrum, and I wanted the music to be done with it too. I had just found out that Ben specialises in composing using electronic noise captured from circuits, so it felt like a perfect fit. I desperately wanted to convince him to work with us, although I only had to say supercomputer once before he said yes.

Ben spent the few hours inside the glass box, recording MareNostrum like a child in a toy store, deafened and frozen but with a huge smile on his face. When he came out, he already had the idea for what to do with the material after our project - an album made solely of MareNostrum sounds. It was a special moment: the supercomputer would sing.

I have great admiration for Ben, but still, I was surprised at how well this album evokes what I imagine is the state of mind of MareNostrum. From up close, the songs are a symphony of strange and colourful sounds that happen as it computes problems in science and engineering. However, from a larger perspective, this is the music that algorithms make. This is what number crunching sounds like. This is the song of the computer." - Fernando Cucchietti - www.bsc.es

This release is a fascinating symbiosis of electronic soundscapes and systematic recording where samples of MareNostrum's sound are masterly integrated into four lengthy compositions. Abstract pulses of a machine with sometimes even creatural sounds and atmospheric synthesized ambience result in a deep, organic opus, creating a yet unheard sonic landscape in the listeners' minds. A dense, impressive auditory adventure and one more epic milestone of Hecq's ambient side.

credits

released October 2, 2015

Mastered by Andreas [Lupo] Lubich at Calyx Berlin
Artwork by Beeple. www.beeple-crap.com
Published by Erased Tapes Music.
©℗ 2015 Hymen Records.
www.hymen-records.com

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Hecq Berlin, Germany

Hecq is an experimental project created by Ben Lukas Boysen to explore the outer realms of left-field electronica, break-core and techno.

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